Top 10 stories: Leominster's Johnson gets 700th win

Editor's note: The Sentinel & Enterprise is counting down the top-10 most-memorable local sports moments of 2012, as voted by the sports department, leading up to the unveiling of the year's No. 1 story on New Year's Day.

Johnson, the winningest coach in the state, got magical victory No. 700 on April 27 when the Blue Devils held off host Wachusett Regional in Holden for a thrilling 2-1 victory.

Johnson's 700th coaching milestone has been voted the Sentinel & Enterprise's No. 3 local sports story of the year.

"Coach Johnson has been the face of Leominster baseball for almost half a century," said Rich Barnaby, a Leominster High varsity assistant coach and former player under Johnson. "In that time he has put Leominster in the conversation as being one of the greatest baseball towns in the state with over 700 wins and three state championships.

"And while you don't get those numbers and reach those milestones unless you work and coach in a community such as Leominster, which cares for their children and supports their athletics more than any city in the state, you also cannot achieve greatness without an exceptional leader and teacher in charge of your program.

Advertisement

"

On that unforgettable chilly April day in Holden, Johnson received congratulations from the Mountaineers after the milestone, and was about to receive kudos from Wachusett athletic director Jen Lynch, but catcher Brice Erickson swept in and gave Johnson a celebratory whipped-cream pie to the face.

"I've been around for a long time," Johnson said after the game. "You don't really ever think of these things happening. I've been blessed with a bunch of great kids."

Johnson even got a little emotional.

"I grew up in Leominster and, believe it or not, I wanted to be a coach when I was in high school. I became an assistant coach for my uncle (Bill Johnson); he coached here for 10 to 12 years.

"When you have a great feeder system in Leominster, it certainly aids the program immensely. I've been blessed with support from the superintendent's office, from when Marty Morin was the superintendent in 1962. I've worked for five or six superintendents and five or six principals, and with their support, we've been able to do this.

"I've had some terrific assistant coaches -- this is not a one-man operation, and I don't want anyone to think that. Don Freda's been with me for nearly 40 years. Rich Barnaby, Steve McCaughey, Sid Rafuse, I've just been blessed with a lot of people. Their efforts helped me reach 700. It's a team effort from the superintendent on down to the assistant coaches."

Barnaby said winning 700 games is an amazing feat to even think about.

"Many people might say that anyone could reach 700 wins if they coached long enough, until you put into perspective the fact that we only play a 20-game season," he said. "You could go undefeated for 30 straight seasons and you would still be 100 wins short.

"Coach has averaged over 15 wins a year for his career. For most coaches around if they had one season of more than 15 wins that would go down as a career year. Seven hundred wins while playing a tough Division 1 schedule is one of those milestones that is very difficult to wrap your head around."

Johnson, a hard-nosed, old-school coach who has frightened many good ballplayers off over the years with his tough and ultra-demanding coaching style, did, however, admit in a preseason interview on March 29 at McLaughin Park in Leominster that when 700 wins was in sight, it became a goal he wanted to chase.

"But I haven't stuck around for that," said Johnson, about as honest of a coach as they come. "I enjoy doing this. This is Custer's last stand."

It's been one great stand, too, for the 75-year-old coach who has given his life to Leominster High athletics.

"I enjoy doing it," Johnson said.

Just how long can Johnson's coaching battery stay energized?

"I can probably coach another six or eight years, but it's not fair to the younger people coming up," said Johnson during the preseason last year. "It's their time. I've had my time. I've had some great experiences, and it's time to somewhere pass the torch. That doesn't mean I won't continue to follow the Blue Devils and baseball, because it's something in your blood."

Johnson's coaching knowledge continues to be passed down to Barnaby, who cherishes learning from the winningest coach in the state.

"As a teacher and coach, my goal was to learn from the best in the state," Barnaby said. "This is why I chose to work in Leominster. Coach has forgotten more about baseball than most coaches will ever know in their lifetimes. Even after playing for him for three years and coaching with him for 11, I still find myself learning something new from him every day, and I consider myself lucky to have had the opportunity to spend so much time with him and to have been mentored by him."

Welcome to your discussion forum: Sign in with a Disqus account or your social networking account for your comment to be posted immediately, provided it meets the guidelines. (READ HOW.)
Comments made here are the sole responsibility of the person posting them; these comments do not reflect the opinion of The Sentinel and Enterprise. So keep it civil.